RAY McKinnon, the Raith Rovers manager, has branded Jason Cummings, the Hibs striker, as “irrelevant” ahead of the first leg of their Ladbrokes Premiership play-off quarter-final at Stark’s Park tomorrow night.
Cummings claimed on Sunday the Easter Road club were the best equipped to win promotion to the top flight and predicted their second tier rivals would be “scared” to play them.
But McKinnon - whose side has lost just once, to Rangers at Ibrox, in their last 15 games – has insisted none of his players is the slightest bit concerned by Cummings’ remarks or the prospect of facing his side.
The former Aberdeen, Dundee United and Nottingham Forest player has also questioned whether the Hibs forward and his team mates will be able to cope with the huge demands on them to secure a place in the top flight.
“Jason has come out and made comments – and he’s within his rights to feel that way,” he said. “He can see it that way. It doesn’t mean we see it that way. We’ll do our talking on the park. That’s where it needs to be done.
“I’m pretty sure my players have probably looked at that. It doesn’t affect us. We’ve got good characters in that dressing room, strong players. They’ll be motivated to win the game for themselves not because of what Jason Cummings says. He’s irrelevant to us.”
McKinnon added: “Hibs are a big club. Let’s not beat about the bush. They’re a big, big club. They’re a Premiership club with great infrastructure, a great squad, great manager, big fan base and they really should be in the top flight.
“For me, that’s a pressure going into the play-offs. Let’s make no bones about it. That is a pressure. Whether it affects them or not, only time will tell. Is it an advantage or disadvantage? I don’t know.”
McKinnon, who took over Raith at the end of last season, has stressed his side are the underdogs to win promotion going into the play-offs due to both Hibs and Falkirk, who finished second and secured a place in the semi-final, having greater resources at their disposal.
However, the 45-year-old is confident his squad, which is partly funded by contributions from benevolent supporters, is good enough to beat Hibs, who they defeated 2-1 the last time they met in Kirkcaldy back in March, over two legs and progress to the semi-final.
“I know Peter Houston (the Falkirk manager) is going on about budgets constantly,” he said. “If we’re going to talk about budgets, Peter, let’s have a look at our budget and compare it to anybody’s.
“It’s absolutely minimal. We’ve got boys in there on peanuts. But that doesn’t mean you’re a bad team. What you’re paying your players doesn’t mean you’re a bad team. We’ve put together a good squad. I’m pretty certain that’s why they’re all wanting to avoid us in the playoffs. If we can play to our maximum, it’s going to be very, very tough for somebody to beat us.
“We’ve got punters putting in five grand here and there to pay their wages. We’ve had to do it with Scott Robertson. We’ve had to do it with Jon Daly. We’ve had to do it for Aidan Connolly. These are people outwith our budget so a lot of credit has to go to the fans.
“Everyone’s going on about the expectation around Hibs, the David and Goliath, but we don’t see it like that. We just see it as two good teams going on that park. May the best team win.”
Meanwhile, Alan Stubbs, the Hibs manager, is hopeful that his side is on the verge of recapturing the form they showed in the first half of the 2015/16 campaign after going undefeated in their last six games.
“I don't think we're that far away from the form we showed last year,” he said. "Back then, we were doing what we've done over the last few games and we've kept clean sheets - and then we've looked like we're scoring goals again. We're creating chances as well. But, overall, the reason why we're doing that is we're performing much better.
Stubbs has also dismissed suggestions Hibs, who lost in the play-off semi-final to Rangers last season, will be adversely affected by the size of their fanbase and the huge demands on them to clinch a place alongside Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts and Rangers in the Premiership next season and baulked at suggestions the play-offs were “stressful”.
“When you have got the opportunity to achieve something, I don’t see it as stressful,” he said. “Stressful is when you are trying to stay away from relegation. Stressful is when you have the possibility of going down and people are affect by it, in terms of wages being cut, people losing their jobs. That’s stressful. I think this is exciting. I think it’s brilliant.”
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